The Aerobic(s) Myth
Far too many people have spent far too much time jogging or running on cement sidewalks, street asphalt, trails and treadmills, because they were told that doing so was necessary for their cardiovascular health. The result of all that knee pounding, is a record number of hip and knee replacement surgeries. The knee replacement rate alone nearly doubled in the US from 2000 to 2010. Today, approximately 500,000 replacements are done every year.
It depends on your goals
During the 80s, 90s, and continuing into the 2000s, there has been an explosion of people running 5k races (in most cases for a charity event) or even half or full marathons. If you ask those participating in these events why they’re doing it, most will say, among other things, for my health.
I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not criticizing anyone who has set a goal to run a 5k or complete a half or full marathon. If that’s something you want to achieve, go for it. What I am saying is this; if you think that you have to jog or run for 20 to 30 minutes several times a week, in order to get in your cardio workout, or to lose weight, you have been duped. And, unless you really enjoy it, you are wasting your time, and potentially setting yourself up for hip and knee problems down the road.
Let’s define the terms
Aerobic(s).
Notice that I have put the “S” in parentheses. That’s because there is actually no such word as aerobics, it’s a made-up word that has become mainstream to define cardio fitness. The actual word aerobic means with air. It defines what happens when you begin to exert effort physically, forcing your body to take in more oxygen. The non-word aerobics refers to when you do some sort of walk, run, peddle, step, etc., exercise, at a steady pace for an extended period of time. This is called steady-state exercise. In the 1980s (the decade of aerobics) it was considered proven science that one must do this type of exercise to maintain a healthy heart or lose weight. We now know better.
Not the best choice
If you want the most efficient use of your time and effort when getting and staying physically fit, your exercise of choice should not be aerobic. The list here shows that the negatives far outweigh the positives when it comes to any steady-state exercise.
Who has the stronger heart?
If aerobic means with air, then anaerobic means without air. If you do an isometric contraction – pushing or pulling full force against an immovable object – you will immediately recognize that you are doing an anaerobic exercise. Why? Because you are straining so hard that you hold your breath. Many people think that doing anaerobic exercise consists of lifting heavy weight. While that’s true, running or peddling as fast as you can is also anaerobic exercise.
Here’s the $64,000 question; who has the stronger heart, a marathon runner or a sprinter? The answer might surprise you. It’s the sprinter. In fact, a marathon runner’s heart actually shrinks. The reason for this is that the human body is not necessarily designed to run 26 miles without stopping. But it can be trained to do so. The bottom line is this; your heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle, it gets strong when stressed. Most people who die of a heart attack do so not because they were out of shape running that 5k. No, they die of a heart attack because of a sudden stressful event (fight or flight) that their heart is not strong enough to handle.
So, if you want a strong attack-resistant heart, do sprints not distance running.
